Contract extension update for Mets' Francisco Alvarez revealed

Eyebrows were raised when it was suggested on Tuesday morning that the New York Mets were "close" to signing young catcher Francisco Alvarez to a contract extension despite his limited MLB experience. 

It appears Alvarez won't put pen to paper on such a deal this winter. 

Tim Healey of Newsday reported on Tuesday afternoon that "a person familiar with the situation" said that the Mets and Alvarez have not yet had any "concrete" discussions about a long-term agreement. 

"Right now, my only goals are to go out there to go play, go do what I need to do," Alvarez explained while addressing the subject through an interpreter. "The idea of a contract — that’s really in the hands of my agent and in the hands of the organization. If they think that that’s the best course of action, then that’s a conversation they need to have. Right now, I’m just focused on winning games and working hard." 

Alvarez thus far has played in a total of just 128 MLB regular-season games, and he won't celebrate his 23rd birthday until this fall. Healey noted that Alvarez will earn $740,000 for the upcoming season and isn't scheduled to reach arbitration until 2026. Meanwhile, SNY's Danny Abriano mentioned earlier this month that the 2024 Mets could be responsible for a luxury-tax payroll of around $330M including money attached to the deals previously signed by co-aces Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.  

Neither Verlander nor Scherzer finished last season with the Amazins. 

"My agent hasn’t told me anything, so I’m assuming that they haven’t had any types of conversations," Alvarez added during his comments. "They haven’t approached me with any types of conversations, so as of right now, there’s nothing." 

Alvarez finished last season second in all of MLB among catchers with 25 home runs, and signing him long before he reaches what should be his prime could potentially save the Mets some cash in the future. However, he also batted just .209 across 123 games in 2023, so Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns can wait a little longer to see what Alvarez is and/or isn't at the highest level before contract talks flirt with approaching a "concrete" status.